Ruiheng Li, Chinese scholar and professor at Peking University, speaking to Rudaw on May 29, 2025. Photo: Rudaw
BEIJING - It is time to move beyond viewing Kurds as a minority in the region and reconsider their place in Iraq with the Kurdistan Region’s establishment and autonomy a “major success,” a Chinese scholar told Rudaw.
"We should not think about the Kurds as just a minority. Maybe if we just limit our scope to the four countries, they are actually the minority, but when we go to [Greater] Kurdistan ... actually they are a majority and they are playing a bigger and longstanding role in the region," Ruiheng Li, Chinese scholar and professor at Peking University, whose research focuses on Kurdish policial history between 1958 and 2003, said on Thursday.
He pointed to the political success of Kurds within Iraq as an example of their importance in the region.
“So I think the whole structure was totally changed in terms of the Kurdish question. [late Kurdistan Democratic Party founder] Mullah Mustafa Barzani returned from the Soviet Union to Iraq, and the KDP was accepted by Abdul Karim al-Qasim. So, the whole environment and conditions were open by that time to the Kurdish people to participate in politics,” Ruiheng Li, Chinese scholar and professor at Peking University, whose research focuses on Kurdish political history between 1958 to 2003, told Rudaw.
“I think this year should be a very significant year to rethink the Kurdish question in Iraq,” he stated.
Reflecting on the Kurdish political transformation following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Li said the conflict marked a turning point for Kurdish rights and governance.
“The Kurds won their legitimate rights in governance and in parliament,” he noted, emphasizing the establishment of the Kurdistan Region as an autonomous entity. Li described the shift as a major milestone in Kurdish political history, underscoring the importance of examining both the pre- and post-2003 periods to fully understand the evolution of Kurdish self-rule.
“So maybe in my next stage, I will bring more about what is happening after the war, like the independence referendum,” he added, referring to his upcoming research.
Li noted that Middle Eastern studies within Chinese academia are still developing, with past research largely centered on what he called “majority issues,” such as Arab, Persian, and Turkish studies.
He emphasized the need to shift this focus, stating, “We should reposition this kind of perspective from a majority-centric to a minority one,” calling for greater academic attention to underrepresented groups like the Kurds in regional research and analysis.
“Because if we go within Kurdistan, the Kurds become a new majority,” he stressed.
"We should not think about the Kurds as just a minority. Maybe if we just limit our scope to the four countries, they are actually the minority, but when we go to [Greater] Kurdistan ... actually they are a majority and they are playing a bigger and longstanding role in the region," Ruiheng Li, Chinese scholar and professor at Peking University, whose research focuses on Kurdish policial history between 1958 and 2003, said on Thursday.
He pointed to the political success of Kurds within Iraq as an example of their importance in the region.
“So I think the whole structure was totally changed in terms of the Kurdish question. [late Kurdistan Democratic Party founder] Mullah Mustafa Barzani returned from the Soviet Union to Iraq, and the KDP was accepted by Abdul Karim al-Qasim. So, the whole environment and conditions were open by that time to the Kurdish people to participate in politics,” Ruiheng Li, Chinese scholar and professor at Peking University, whose research focuses on Kurdish political history between 1958 to 2003, told Rudaw.
“I think this year should be a very significant year to rethink the Kurdish question in Iraq,” he stated.
Reflecting on the Kurdish political transformation following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Li said the conflict marked a turning point for Kurdish rights and governance.
“The Kurds won their legitimate rights in governance and in parliament,” he noted, emphasizing the establishment of the Kurdistan Region as an autonomous entity. Li described the shift as a major milestone in Kurdish political history, underscoring the importance of examining both the pre- and post-2003 periods to fully understand the evolution of Kurdish self-rule.
“So maybe in my next stage, I will bring more about what is happening after the war, like the independence referendum,” he added, referring to his upcoming research.
Li noted that Middle Eastern studies within Chinese academia are still developing, with past research largely centered on what he called “majority issues,” such as Arab, Persian, and Turkish studies.
He emphasized the need to shift this focus, stating, “We should reposition this kind of perspective from a majority-centric to a minority one,” calling for greater academic attention to underrepresented groups like the Kurds in regional research and analysis.
“Because if we go within Kurdistan, the Kurds become a new majority,” he stressed.
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